Tantra vs Buddhism: Which Path is right for you?
In this episode, we explore the fascinating spiritual paths of Tantra and Buddhism, delving into core principles, practices, and benefits.
We cover fundamental questions and curiosities surrounding the two practices and answer questions such as:
What is Tantric Buddhism?
Is Tantra only about sexuality and rituals?
What are the goals of Tantra and Buddhism?
Can one practice both Tantra and Buddhism? Can Tantra and Buddhism be practiced by anyone?
How can Tantra and Buddhism benefit my life?
If I'm curious about practicing Tantra or Buddhism, how can I get started?
Whether you're curious about one path or both, this episode provides insights into which path may be right for you and how to integrate teachings into your spiritual journey. Join us as we explore these transformative paths toward inner peace and personal growth.
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To be on a spiritual journey is similar to standing at a crossroad with multiple paths ahead of you. It's challenging, exciting, and a deeply personal choice. Today we'll dive into the interesting, complex, fascinating roads of the Buddhist and Tantric path. Some of the questions and curiosities that we will go deeper into in this episode are about what really is Tantra and Buddhism? Are they related? What's the difference between them? Should I follow Tantra or Buddhism? What should be my deciding factor? Can Tantra and Buddhism be practiced by anyone? Can I practice both of them? If you resonate with any of these questions, stay with me in this episode because not only I want to share what's the best way to dive into Tantra and Buddhism, but not many know. I do have an extremely personal and a deep relationship with Buddhism as much as I have with Tantra as well.
As I'm recording this, I'm looking at the Buddha and the Kali statues on my altar. I've always had them for 10, 15 years since I can remember. So as you listen to me in this episode, I invite you to invite the compassion, the kindness of Buddha, and also the warmth and the strength of Goddess Kali. May both of us guide you and me together in this conversation. I'm Chandresh Bhardwaj, and this is Leela Gurukul.
Namaste everyone, I hope you are doing great. I hope you're feeling safe, easy and grounded. The last few weeks have been so interesting, so exciting actually. This is the first episode I'm sitting after I came back from my Belgium trip. I did record the Goddess Kali Inner Child Meditation after the trip, but this is the first conversation I'm having with you. So much has unfolded since then. If you have been following me on Instagram, you notice how the posts have changed. For me, the writings are shifting a bit, and many of you asked if I'm taking any coaching for these social media posts or if there is something specific, a template I'm following. It's first time I'm not following any template, any guidance from outside just unleashing the inner child, to be honest. I'm letting the poet within me to be a bit more raw, a bit more unapologetic.
I often stumble upon my own writings that I used to write 10, 15 years ago, and I kind of love how I used to write even as a younger kid, but that's what I'm trying to channel. Not even trying. It's happening. I'm trusting it. But I feel I should actually record a totally separate episode because that is the creative act I'm indulging in on a very deep and playful manner. This episode is about something I wanted to speak to you for so long.
So let's talk about Tantra Buddhism, and I'll save the exciting updates I have regarding the creative process. I'm channeling for the perhaps next episode or in the upcoming episodes. Before we talk about Tantra Buddhism, I do want to share, I'm pleasantly surprised and really happy to see the response we are getting for Tantra Tribe. Tantra Tribe, as some of you know, it's the virtual membership space for Leela Gurukul followers.
One thing I have been noticing from day one of my work in Tantra, and by day one, I mean for the last 14 years, I've been witnessing this challenge among everyone. The seekers who are genuinely entrusted in the Tantra work or in deepening their healing or in goddesses, they struggle to find the right information. They spend or waste so much time in browsing random podcasts, books, online sources, and then they feel frustrated by the end of it. And I get messages almost every other week with books and audios, "is this good? Is this author good? Which one do you recommend?" And because of all of this frustration that you guys have been sharing with me, we decided to make Leela a fun, a playful space where my intention is to share the Tantra content, which means the audio, the video talks, the guided meditations, a monthly video call and a community space with all of you where people, seekers from all over the world can join. And together we'll create a Tantra Tribe that is safe, playful, intimate, and cozy.
If you have been resonating and liking the work on Leela Gurukul, I assure you you would have so much more fun in Tantra Tribe because I feel it's just the next step in our relationship. Podcast has given you, inspired you and Tantra Tribe shall take that journey that you and I shared on the next deeper level.
Now, some of you already might be thinking "how much it's going to be, what if I can't afford?" So here's a quick note on that. I'm going to have the first conversation with all the seekers who are interested in becoming the founding members of Leela Gurukul. With the founding members, I'm going to work on creating the most beautiful accessible structure of this Leela Tantra Tribe. On the day one of Navaratri, October 15th, I'm going to have the Zoom call. If you have not signed up, please drop a DM either on my Instagram @CBmeditates, or on the Leela Instagram @LeelaGurukul, or email us info@LeelaGurukul.com and let us know you want to be part of the Tantra Tribe.
You will be included in the Zoom call, which is free for everyone. After the Zoom call, we are going to really arrive at the pricing and the structure, but I assure you the pricing will be as cheap as maybe a few coffees. And by few I don't mean 50 coffees per month. Perhaps let's say you drink three coffees per month, and that's how much you'll be spending in the Tantra Tribe on a monthly basis. And if you happen to be from a country where the currency exchange is too high and you can't afford it, but still very much you want to be part of it, do let us know. We are working on making this accessible for everyone. All right, and thank you again for inspiring the Leela Gurukul content and your curiosities, questions and the love, the support that you continue to give to Leela Gurukul. Now, let's get to the episode.
Tantra and Buddhism. Now, I think at this point, if you have listened to at least two episodes, random episodes on Leela Gurukul, you know that I come from family of Tantra teachers. I grew up learning about the goddesses from day one. Not many of you probably would know that I do have almost an equal, if not equal, then at least equally exciting journey with Buddhism as well. The town I grew up, it was very close to the town of Dalai Lama, Dharamshala. Dharamshala is where Dalai Lama lives. And my childhood memories, they consist of me jumping around in the monastery of Dalai Lama where all the lamas, the monks are meditating, playing the singing ball. And all I'm doing is jumping. But I have to tell you something so beautiful because it still gives me goosebumps. I remember we all went to Dharamshala monastery and all the lamas were sitting doing their prayer ceremony.
It's a beautiful sacred space. And I don't remember how old I was. I was probably not even in second or third grade, really young, really, the baby CB. And I was clear in my head, "I'm going to jump around and just have fun." But I remember the moment I walked into that room, I felt so much energy. I didn't know what it did with me because I remember sitting down and just being so moved by the mantra chanting in the room. And these were the few things, interesting things that I used to react to, which gave my father, my teacher, lots of interesting signs that his son is up to something interesting. I hope that's what he thinks. But he still tells me that "when I would watch you as a kid, I would know you are meant to be an unconventional kid." And yeah, that has its own blessing and curse, to be unconventional.
But we shall talk about that unconventionality in some other episode hopefully, or maybe I'll include that in my biography in the future, what it means for me to be unconventional. But going back to the monastery, I remember sitting and watching them with so much awe, with so much love and curiosity. And I didn't realize when Buddha, Gautama Buddha became a part of my journey. I have so many memories of sitting in the New York subway and just reading books of Buddha's teachings. And I can tell you when my actions, my thoughts, my teachings started to integrate his teachings, Buddha's teachings. Now, before we talk about on the scholar level what it means to be a Buddhist or a Tantric, what if I tell you Buddha was also one of the great Tantrics the world has seen? When he left his palace, when he left his mansion and in the search for truth, he practiced every possible thing that exists in those days.
And one of them was Tantra. And this is why there is a strong Tantric context in the Buddhism. Many Buddhist teachers keep it separate, some of them don't. Some keep the mindfulness of the Buddhism separate and the Tantric Buddhism separate. We shall talk about that in this episode. But it was very fascinating and interesting for me to know that Buddha indulged in Tantra and really navigated that path from his point of view, from his perspective. And that makes Buddhism very interesting branch of Tantra in a way. And those who are listening to me first time, welcome to Leela Gurukul. The three I think philosophies or three schools that always had huge impact on my growth or the way I work with my clients as a spiritual advisor. Tantra is one of them. Buddhism is another one. And the third one is Hinduism, the Hindu religion.
While I do not believe and do not encourage anyone to dive into any sort of -ism, because I feel the moment it becomes an -ism, it loses the authenticity because it becomes someone's mission, someone's propaganda, even at times to convince you that "my religion is the best and everything else is not good enough." When I meditate on Buddha, when I meditate on Shiva, Krishna, Kali, I'd never ever feel they wanted to start a religion. They lived a certain life. Their life became a religion. And that's how I understand Buddhism, Tantra, and Hinduism.
Now let's get into the specifics of the difference between Tantra and Buddhism. The Buddha's path, the foundation, it's rooted in the teachings of Gautama Buddha. This path focuses on understanding and eliminating the suffering. Many people believe Buddha said, you cannot avoid suffering or the suffering is the purpose of life. He never said that. What he meant was suffering will happen in life. If you do not go beyond your mind, pain will become suffering if you do not go beyond mind.
And to help you go beyond mind, he worked on the four noble truths. He created the eightfold path for the mindfulness meditation and the spiritual growth. And if I have to define Buddhism to someone who's navigating it, in the very initial phases of it, I would say the three pillars of Buddhism would be the morality, living a life of morality. Number two, consistent and a deep meditation. And number three, to live in awareness, mindfulness. Now, Tantric path, on the other hand, most people associate it with either the esoteric rituals or sexuality, but on a deeper level, Tantra is really the science of self-realization. You would notice Tantra in Hindu religion, Buddhism, and many other traditions.
The pillars of Tantra would be Sadhana. That is disciplined meditation practice. Mantra, very important part of Tantra. And rituals to awaken the goddess and the spiritual energy. And the fourth bonus that I've never spoken about on Leela Gurukul is a yantra, which is a sacred geometrical space. What if I tell you yantras are considered way more powerful than the goddess statues than even doing the mantras? Yantra is considered the spiritual reservoir of the goddess. It's considered the energy where the goddess lives, where the goddess thrives.
Now, I want to share a very common struggle that I come across among the Buddhist seekers. Now, they may not be the people who were born in the Buddhist family, but the people I'm talking about, they have been following Buddhism for a few years, maybe a few months, and not more than three to five years perhaps. Okay? So I get this message from all of these seekers that "I have been following the Buddhism for a few years. I used to feel a lot of peace. I still feel a lot of peace practicing the meditation and the teachings, and yet I'm starting to feel something is missing. Something is not complete. Am I getting bored? Is this even a right feeling or am I just wanting to jump on the next thing and I'll be bored with the next shiny thing as well?"
Now, this is the nature of Buddhism. Buddhism teaches us to renounce, to let go, to be in a space where you could easily detach from your material aspirations. And the truth is, majority of us are not ready or interested or willing to renounce or detach the world. How many of you would be happy to have zero relationship, zero interest in ambition, success, money? And don't tell me I would be happy with the basics of the shelter, food, and the monthly allowance. I'm talking about no interest in money, simply living on the street and being so happy about it. This is the level of renunciation and detachment buddhism teaches.
The challenge that happens here we are not meant or ready to renounce. We are not designed to let go of those material and ambitious aspirations so early, so quickly. So many factors are contributing to this ambition you have. Not only your planets are contributing, but also the environment you grew up in. Your own ambition, your own inner fire, your own, the energy within you, what I call prana. The life force wants to experience something through you. So all of these forces join together to have an experience. It could be, if I could be honest and give you one word, everything seeks for a creative expression. For some people it becomes only indulgence in food and pleasure. For some people, it becomes a creative artistic expression. And for some people it becomes a mix of everything.
And for no one, it becomes an experience of letting go, renunciation. And that is a very important understanding of Buddhist path. If you are on the path of Buddhism, and if you feel that you're losing interest in your relationship or you are wanting to let go of the material desires and yet you feel stuck, that means you need to reset your relationship with your spiritual path because perhaps there are karmic contracts that need to be taken care of. Maybe there is something you need to experience and in the name of detachment and renunciation, maybe you're just escaping from the responsibility or the karmic contract or the tough work you need to do. This is why many seekers feel "what's next, what do I do?" Because the reason many seekers get attracted toward Buddhism is because of anxiety, trauma, pain, suffering they have experienced in life.
And when the teachings of Buddha calm you down, you realize, "all right, my hunger is solved. Now I feel the ambition. What do I do?" Because Buddhism focuses on the understanding of mind, and it helps you to break the cycle of suffering. So do not underestimate the power of that. But Tantra focuses more on the direct experience with the divine consciousness. So if I'm channeling or tapping into the Buddhist teaching, I will learn a lot, a big deal about how my mind functions, how my trauma is limiting me, controlling me, how my reactions are not serving me, how I need to build boundaries and gain more power over my mood, my behavior, my temptations, my addiction. But Tantra can help you to go further steps deeper, to have a direct experience. Direct experience with who? With goddess energy, with what we call the creative force, with the energies of Kali, Dus Mahavidya, the 10 prime goddesses, and so many others.
Another way to define this is Buddhism is a reading about love, and Tantra is falling in love. Although as a Tantric, I would say rising in love. No Tantric would approve that I'm saying falling in love for Tantra. So let me rephrase it. Buddhism is a reading about love, gaining understanding of love, and Tantra is a rising in love. Most people need both. Some people want only one. Again, it's your personal choice the way you want to do it. Second interesting factor here is the play of energies in Tantra and Buddhism. Buddhism focuses on the inner energy, the peace, the harmony, and the calmness and the sweetness you hold within. And Tantra focuses on harnessing, transmuting your intensity. It focuses on waking up the dormant energy, which we call kundalini. Kundalini means the dormant serpent-like energy. It's relaxing, it's sleeping. It's been sleeping for years, for lifetimes.
And Tantra says, "your anger, your greed, your anxiety, your addiction, your sexual desires, they all are screaming to wake up that end dormant energy." And you've got to do that because by waking up that dormant energy, you become your most powerful version. You become your most creative version. And by that I don't mean that you fit into some sort of goddess or a macho template. You become you. That's what happens. You come back to your heart, you connect to the source. So while Buddhism teaches you, helps you to build the inner calmness, Tantra helps you to transmute anger, ego, attachment, lust, greed. So there's a lot of interesting work that happens with the Tantra.
Third interesting aspect, I feel, is how we integrate Buddhism in your daily life. Buddhism doesn't give much focus on the daily life aspect because it understands the whole life as nothing but a circus, a drama, which it is, it's a circus, it's a drama. There's a lot of suffering out there. And Buddhism says, "do you really want to be part of this circus and drama every day? Let me teach you calmness. Let me teach your renunciation, detachment." Now, that's where the challenge happens, because while it's a great idea to detach and renounce everything, there are energies in you that want to experience life as it is, that want to experience life in its totality.
So Tantra says, "all right, in your daily life, what exactly do you experience? Do you experience lust, addiction, greed, ambition, desire, creativity? Write down every action, emotion, experience that you go through on a daily basis because all of those will be a tool for your spiritual awakening." That's how the Tantra takes your human self and makes it into the godly self.
Now, the next question I have here is what's the ultimate goal for Tantra and Buddhism? The goals are pretty simple, especially for Buddhism. The goal for the Buddhist path is liberation from the cycle of birth and death through a spiritual evolution, through a spiritual awakening. The goal is for you to understand the drama of life and to rise beyond it. Compassion is the goal. Forgiveness is the goal. Self-healing is the goal. All the daily trauma, pain you experience, Buddhism helps you to go beyond it. The goal of Tantra is to tap into your human self and for you to attain the self-realization, the direct experience of what it means to live in your highest and the truest potential. The goal of Tantra is to help you experience your true nature beyond the limitations of your mind and ego. The ultimate goal of Tantra is the same as Buddhism. It does want you to be free from the drama, the cycle of the circus.
But the method of Tantra is that "Go into the circus, sit there, do not escape, do not run. Sit there, watch it, and understand your own power. Be in the belly of beast, but not be eaten by the beast. What are the things you were hesitating to share and express? Do that. What's the art you wanted to create? Go for it." Tantra infuses a sense of courage, a sense of playfulness, a sense of sensuality, so that you experience this life and its totality and you bloom through that lotus, you bloom through that mud that you were thrown into.
The next question I have is Tantra only about sexuality and rituals? The answer is no. You could be a Tantric your whole life and not touch the sexuality and the ritual part at all. Because deep down, Tantra teaches us to indulge in life with awareness. And you could define how do you wish to indulge in life? There is a part of Tantra called Sri Yantra. I talked about Yantra, correct? That's the spiritual reservoir of the goddess energies. And Sri Yantra, which is a geometrical, sacred geometry art, but it's made on metal. It's made on sphatik, which looks like crystal, but it's not crystal.
But anyway, the point is Sri Yantra, the teaching of Sri Yantra teaches us that you could be living in abundance of your wealth, your material success, but also at the peak of your spiritual awakening. You don't have to pick one to experience the other. So I would say the biggest thing in Tantra is your Sadhana, your meditation. How you choose to do it, that's up to you. People have their own preference, they have their own way of doing it. And you could, as I said, be far away from sexuality and rituals or even mantras and still be part of the Tantric path.
But you have to understand the why of it. If you're choosing to stay away from these experiences, why are you doing that? Is it because of a pain, a fear, hesitation? Then obviously you should not escape and face it. But if it's any other deep mindful reason, then explore that. Buddhism is of course about meditation, but meditation as taught by the Buddhist practices, which is a beautiful mindfulness way. And in Tantra there are more than 114 practices of meditation. And within those 114 practices, you could also create so many sublayers and texts because we all come from our unique ambition, intention and challenges.
All right, I hope this is helpful so far. In the last few minutes of this episode, I want to share how you could get started for Tantra and/or Buddhism. Number one is your personal alignment. Reflect deeply on what resonates more with you. Do you want to just understand the nature of your mind, of your consciousness, or do you also want to harness and elevate your inner energy? They both are intensive and also the kind of work that will hit you on different level. You could start with one and then you can move on to the second. But whatever you choose, give it your best awareness and attention.
Number two, what does your lifestyle support? If you are someone who is more inclined toward integrating spiritual practices into the daily material life, then Tantra might appeal to you. And if you are looking for a very structured practice and teaching and you don't find any enjoyment in the material life, then Buddhism might be a better fit.
Third one, don't hesitate to seek guidance. Find a mentor, teacher, community, spiritual guide. Learn from their experiences. And I know while Tantra communities are tough to find, and the one many people find are unfortunately really crazy, and that scars you for a long time. But Buddhism has many monasteries all over the world to explore the workshops, explore retreats, introductory courses, read the books, and engage in practices from Buddhism and from Tantra. And I said, Tantra communities are tough to find, but I hope you find a lot of strength and direction about Tantra in the Leela Gurukul podcast itself. And this is why, again, I hope Tantra Tribe membership brings you what is missing from the Tantra space because I feel it doesn't matter what path you choose, they both are leading you somewhere, but having the right guidance can make a huge difference.
And the final suggestion I have here to find your path is to enjoy both, maybe. The power of fusion. You don't always have to choose here. Some people blend practices from both paths to create a unique spiritual journey. I use Tantra on a very daily basis, but I do feel very drawn to the Buddhist teachings as well. So I do blend in both. When I'm working with clients, I know when they're going through their personal trauma, suffering, rude challenges. I do tap in the Buddhist suggestions, teachings and practices. But when it's a matter of deep self-healing, unleashing that inner means healing on a sexual and sensual level, then Tantra is the way. But on the bigger level of creating your 2.0 version, transcending the old identity, stepping into the new, a lot of stuff that you hear me talking about, that's all Tantra. So I blend Buddhism on a softer level, and Tantra is the larger, bigger picture for me. And I feel you have the freedom and choice to blend both the way you want to.
And before I end, some fun facts, surprising facts about both Buddhism and Tantra that I think you might enjoy. There is something called Buddhist Tantra. It's also called Tibetan Buddhism, also known as the Vajrayana Buddhism. It incorporates the Tantric practices. I don't teach that. I teach the Shiva Shakti, the goddesses and the Shiva practices of Tantra. And what I can tell you about the Vajrayana Buddhism or the Tantric form of Buddhism, it's similar. And yet there are certain differences, obviously, because it comes from a certain culture and a teaching style.
Second one, never ever think Buddhism is all about elimination of suffering and that's a very serious path. Not at all. It focuses on joy, compassion, forgiveness, acceptance. It's a huge support for people who seek acceptance, who seek that self-love and self-compassion. So embrace Buddhism as a path of joy because it certainly promises that.
And the last one here is Tantra is not about just sex. It is about meditation, rituals, mantras. It's about transmutation. It's about sacred sexuality. It's about unleashing your creative force and contribute to the collective energy of this universe.
At the end of this episode, the only note I have for you, it doesn't matter what path you choose, be it Buddhist, Tantric, or a blend of both. Let it be a deeply personal choice. Let it be guided not by external validations, but by your own inner compass. I hope the path you choose resonates with your heart, soul, and awareness. Because this journey is not about destination, it's about self-discovery, growth, healing your inner child, playing with your inner child, and enlightenment will be bonus. That's where the surprise thought twist happens.
Be safe, be well, and I'll speak to you in the next episode. May the teachings of Tantra continue to guide you and heal you. And I hope Leela Gurukul helps you to unlearn the old and embrace the unknown mystical possibility unfolding for you. To support this podcast, share it among the seekers who are ready for the next step in their spiritual path.
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Visit cbmeditates.com to send your questions and learn more about Chandresh's work.
